— 9 — 
with grain, or seeding back to alfalfa. Thus the rotation 
would be alfalfa three years, wheat one year, beets one 
year, oats one year with alfalfa seed, and alfalfa for the 
next three years. 
When it becomes necessary to fertilize the ground with 
barnyard manure, the best crop to follow with is corn. The 
rotation would then be corn, beets, grain two years, manur- 
ing the second year after the grain, and then planting corn 
again the fifth year. If the stable manure is applied just 
before the beets, it produces a large crop, but the amount 
of sugar is small. 
VARIETIES. 
The varieties mostly used are the Kleinwanzleben and 
the Vilmprin. The beet sugar factories import this seed and 
sell it to their patrons at cost. An attempt is now being 
made in Utah to grow sugar beet seed on a commercial 
scale. 
HARVESTING. 
Harvesting for the factory is commenced as soon as the 
beets are ripe, which stage is known by the change in color 
of the leaves from green to yellow and at the same time the 
leaves droop to the ground and many of the outer leaves 
die and wither. Beets for stock food should be left in the 
ground as long as possible and gathered just before the 
ground freezes. In Colorado the harvest will extend from 
October 15th in the northern part to a month later in the 
southern and western portions. 
Harvesting maybe done by a beet puller made for the 
purpose, which lool<^much like a sulky plow, but in place 
of the plow are two strong iron prongs. When the machine 
is driven lengthwise of the row these prongs dig deep into 
the ground, one on each side of the beet and loosen it from 
its bed. It can then be lifted out by hand. A simpler 
method, and almost as good, is to plow a deep furrow by 
the side of the row of beets and as close to them as pos- 
sible without cutting them. They may then be loosened by 
pushing sideways into the furrow and pulled by hand. 
The most tedious and expensive part of the harvesting 
is the topping. Although machines have been invented for 
doing this, they have not been successful and the work is 
still done by hand. A strong heavy knife is used and with a 
single stroke the leaves are severed from the root. If for 
sugar, the “ neck ” of the beet is cut off with the leaves ; that 
is, the part of the beet from which the leaves have grown. 
For stock feed, where the beets are to be kept in a root- 
cellar for several months, this neck is left on the root, the 
